If Continuum Shift is based off the True ending of Calamity Trigger, then how does Taokaka know Ragna as the 'Good Guy'? There wasn't any scene in the true ending showing that they met each other, so how can they already know each other?

For the same reason Carl and Tao are taken under Bang's wing despite not happening in their True endings.

That still doesn't explain how Ragna and Tao know each other.

Ok, think of it like this; some scenes that weren't shown in the True ending are canon while others are not.

Everything in Calamity Trigger's story happened in time loops, and the True End is the version that managed to escape the time loop and reach Continuum Shift's story line. This is especially clear in the Continuum Shift stories for Litchi and Carl, both lead on from one of their Calamity Trigger endings but reference a second.

Contiuum Shift Extend included "Calamity Trigger Reconstructed," which was basically one long version of the True Ending. Ragna and Tao do in fact meet, and Tao does call him "good guy."

Why do people keep comparing Noel with Millia? All they have in similarity are their color schemes and blonde hair. Dizzy has more similarities with her, yet the one she's compared with is Nu (who'd have closer similarities with Justice).

Colour-Coded for Your Convenience, perhaps? On occasion, people will associate others with people wearing the same colour. As for Nu and Dizzy, they both have 'wings' (Nu's swords float behind her back). That's my guess.

Why is Kokonoe being a Cat Girl considered a spoiler when the game makes absolutely no attempt to hide it??

Leftovers from between original's arcade release and the console version, where Kokonoe's origins were a legitimate surprise.

Ragna's multiple endings in Story mode. The other characters are justified when they go through different paths because in the end, Ragna fuses with Nu and becomes the Black Beast and starts the whole thing all over again. If Ragna is the cause of the whole timeloop to even happen, then how is it he can go through different endings? That should be a foil to Hazama's plans or against Rachel's expectations, right?

Ragna isn't the cause of the time loop, nor is he the reason why the Black Beast exists in the past. The Black Beast was created once by Hazama in the past as his first attempt to create Kusanagi. The Black Beast can be created a second time in the BlazBlue story when the two halves of the fake Azure Grimoire (held by Ragna and v-13) fuse and activate. The source of the time distortion is v-13: only when she is destroyed does the time loop finally shatter.

Do you have a source for that? Because AFAIK the timeloop IS dependent on both Nu and Ragna which is backed up by the Material Collection. The only thing I've found to back you up is speculation by Suzaku of the Dustloop forums here [1] who is currently translating the Material Collection book and that's only about the original timeline.

The timeloop is definitely dependent on Ragna and a Murakumo Unit, usually Nu but sometimes Mu. In some loops, Nu is destroyed by Mu, who then takes her place (and presumably her Azure) and fuses with Ragna. See one of Ragna's alternate paths, and when Nu loses to Noel in her Story Mode. I got the feeling that what breaks the loop isn't necessarily Nu's death, it's Noel breaking free from her fate and her programming to save Ragna from falling into the Cauldron.

I was under the impression that the big satellite with the skeleton/demon thing was causing the timeloop.

Oh, I see. But that raises one more question. If Hazama created the first one, then does the second one 'replace' it throughout the rest of the time distortion or something? Sorry, I'm kind of confused by all these details that have to be put together.

Alright, let me put an end to this confusion. Neither Ragna nor Nu are entirely responsible for the time loop. The one's truly responsible are the beings known as the Takama-ga-hara. They watch over the world endlessly and whenever an event occurs that brings the world towards the path of destruction, they turn back time in order to make subtle changes to the timeline to keep the world from being destroyed. Say that Taokaka or Noel were to die. Despite their varying importance, they are still key figures in the timeline, so if either of them die, BOOM! Time loop. This is especially prevalent with Ragna, as the last thing the Takama-ga-hara need is for him to be turned into the Black Beast. These beings would only continue to loop time until the right events were to occur to keep the world on a path that would avoid utter destruction. Unfortunately, they would soon be outsmarted and taken down by Yuuki Terumi for an indefinite period of time, leaving the only thing to loop time being the Master Unit.

Nirvana is around 100 years old. Nine created it during the First War of Magic as one of the original nine Nox Nytores by transmuting thousands of human souls into each one. Ada was only put in it very recently.

Which makes Relius even worse, since he had no reason to do this other than curiosity.

Hakumen also knows its secret, and possibly the other living Heroes and maybe Kokonoe. It's just no one is talking about what that secret is.

Where did Ragna get his "Bloodedge" title?

We don't know. Personally, I think he got it from the Blood-scythe, or the blood gleaming off his sword as seen by the survivors of the Library branches he destroyed, but for all we know Ragna is crap at making up titles and picked one off the top of his head, 'cause seriously, what kind of name is Bloodedge?

It's revealed in CS' Story Mode that Bloodedge was the name of a friend of Jubei's who fought alongside the Six Heroes and who was the previous owner of the Blood-Scythe and Ragna's jacket. Rachel calls him Ragna the Bloodedge after he receives them.

This is yet another shining example of what timeloops do. Ragna is inheriting his own title, jacket, and weapon because as the prequel novel will tell you, Bloodedge is none other than Ragna. He just has amnesia after being thrown into the past and having his copy of the Azure absorbed by Nu who become the Black Beast. So not only is Ragna essentially having his jacket and weapon returned to a younger version of himself (given to him by Jubei, who could do nothing but watch him die), it was Ragna himself that fought back the Black Beast for an entire year alone. And to top it all off, Jubei states in Continuum Shift that Ragna/Bloodedge could have fought even longer had he not sacrificed himself to save someone.

Now that you've read the above spoiler. Consider this for a moment. Who mentored who first? Did Ragna teach Jubei first or did Jubei teach Ragna who was later thrown back in time to teach Jubei what he would later re-teach a young Ragna? Does your brain hurt yet?

Here's another mind screw for you, continuing from what the previous troper stated, considering the time loop, who created the Bloodedge sword/scythe/thing? How did it come into existence if the previous owner was an amnesic Ragna who inherited it from himself, thus, later on, passing it on to himself without giving us a clear understanding of just how it came into the picture.

Where is Hazama/Terumi's Azure Grimoire located? Ragna's is on the back of his hand and Nu's was on her face. I guess the only logical thing to assume is it's somewhere under his clothing (chest, maybe? I mean Hazama was never human in the first place, apparently he was created by Relius for Terumi along with Nu and the other Mura-something units, or so I heard, so don't hold it against me if that's wrong, so it's possible that during the creation Terumi requested for it to be placed on his body), but then again, from some of the animated sequences, we see that Ragna's Azure opens up and releases... stuff, in his sprites, when activating Blood Kain, though from what I've seen from Hazama's sprites, and from the recordings on YouTube of Ragna VS Hazama in Arcade Mode on Continuum Shift, all his seems to do is make the ground shake. Also, where the hell did Ragna get his Azure, anyway? At the end of the CS Ragna Arcade Mode, Terumi says he created the Azures so... how the hell did Ragna get hold of it?

The origins of Ragna's obtainment of his fake Azure will most likely be expanded upon in Continuum Shift's console story mode. It is wise to assume that Hazama's Azure is hidden underneath his clothing. And perhaps Terumi "allowed" Ragna to obtain an Azure to become the Black Beast, thus effectively allowing Terumi to perform a trial and error of sorts, eventually leading him to create Kusanagi.

Ragna's Azure is actually the body of the Black Beast which was hidden under the church he was raised in and is now his right arm. Terumi made the Black Beast which was split into two halves of the fake Azure, Ragna's which is the body and Nu's which is the heart. As for how he got the Azure, when Rachel saves, him he crawls (bleeding and with only one eye open) to where the Black Beast's remains were sealed, broke the seal and the remains became his right arm and fake Azure.

While Ragna's Azure is his right arm, Hazama's Azure is his whole body. The Azure Grimoire can take on any shape depending on the user, in this case it makes up Hazama's body.

Why is it suddenly a spoiler that Jin is Ragna's brother? It's casually mentioned not even ten minutes into Ragna's story mode scenario, people! The only reason I can think of is that the sudden influx of spoiler tags were added by arcade purists who wouldn't touch the console version with a 10-foot pole.

Which is also weird, because it is stated in the arcade version as well. Jin's story mode, anyone?

Okay, this has always confused me. Does the list of the Six Heroes count Terumi? I mean, was his expulsion from the Susanoo Unit before or after the whole Black Beast fiasco? Is it that he was replaced with Jin in all subsequent timelines after the first, or does he get to go back in time and play Sixth Ranger?

He ejected from Susanooh prior to the Blask Beast's attack, and fought as one of the six heroes in his ghost form.

Why the hell did Ark Sys have to replace easy specials with beginner mode? One of these helped veterans practice their timing without having to perfect inputs as well. One of these does not.

Who, exactly, are the Takamagahara? And, just as importantly, how is Terumi connected to them?

Takamagahara is, insofar as I understand it, a sentient computer system that's meant to moderate the world or history or some such. By the start of CS, it would seem they had decided that humanity screwed everything up and should be destroyed along with everything else. Or to just stop the freaky time loops that were apparently in the care of Master Unit Amaterasu. Not entirely clear. Anyway, they let Terumi out to do his thing. That's my understanding of it. A lot of the bits with Takamagahara involved the nature of reality and causality in the BlazBlue universe, so it got fairly confusing on its own.

The only things we know are that they are a system made by mankind, they monitor the timelines, they're trying to make the world "correct" and are attempting to reach the Azure for that purpose. They released Terumi to carry out the "Destruction protocol" to get the Master Unit out of the way. They pretty much explicitly say they don't want to kill everything like Terumi does when Rachel suggests they want to reduce the world to nothingness. More information about them will be revealed in the BlazBlue: Phase 0 light novel.

Thank you for making that bit less confusing, I wasn't entirely sure what I was getting at myself.

I really can't figure out how Arakune works. Why do bugs follow him? The only bug that he actively house in his body is the fat spit bug from down D, and, when cursed, other bugs fly in from off screen. This would mean that the bugs follow him, but for what reason? Arakune himself devours creatures completely, so there is no scavenging to be had for the bugs and in the story he never scouts or uses the bugs in any meaningful manner so we can probably rule out mind control. And why do these "bugs" look so weird?

You know how he has a large pile of books in one of his pre-battle poses? It has been stated in the Material Collection that those books are all grimoires which house the bugs that he unleashes.

Okay, this just bugged me, but what would be Litchi's alignment ultimately? Neutral Good? Chaotic Good? True Neutral? Neutral Good seems to stem from how she likes helping people and is, deep down, a kind person. However, since she joined NOL, it dashes away her Neutral Good tendencies since it's an EVIL organization, but she pretty much doesn't care, as long as she can save Arakune, which NOL has. However, judging from how many people compares this with the Nasuverse, I get the feeling that Litchi might be Chaotic Good instead, since her decision with Arakune is similar with the decision that Shirou made in Heaven's Feel scenario: let the world be endangered just so long as he can save his love (Sakura). Well, which will it be?

I would say that she's initially Neutral Good, and, as you say, her decision to save Arakune goes into Chaotic Good territory. However, I personally believe that she might end up as Chaotic Neutral if she keeps up her current attitude. It occurred to me that maybe the reason for her Face–Heel Turn is Fridge Brilliance, since the Boundary's power erodes minds which would mean that she's losing her common sense, since it's a mental faculty.

Wait, wait. The current Litchi that joined NOL is Chaotic Good... or Chaotic Neutral? Or were you referring the Chaotic Neutral Litchi as her when the corruption reached its peak (AKA, her becoming something similar to Arakune)?

I believe that the above troper was trying to say that Litchi was initially Neutral Good, currently Chaotic Good and might end up being Chaotic Neutral if this trend continues.

Need I remind you that the NOL is not inherently evil? Yes, they're controversial, and yes, their leaders are questionable at best, but they're essentially a government slash military slash police force slash university. To call them inherently evil is WAY overgeneralizing. Going with the NOL does not make her evil — she's doing it to try and save somebody she loves, and while this will probably put her on the evil side of some fights in Blaz Blue Chrono Phantasma, it doesn't change her whole character alignment.

Everyone else in this site has been treating her like no longer good. Hell, have you seen how the articles in other characters NEVER let it be passed that she betrayed those who has trusted her (Bang, Carl, Tao, Linhua)? Of course I do agree that she's not Evil, but still, I am still confused on how you think that her alignment were still Good, not degraded into Neutral (I'm personally hoping you'll state why it's still Good and not Neutral, though). The accusations of her no longer Good weren't solely because of just joining NOL, but because she looked like not being there against her will but more like giving in to her selfish desires on doing it, if you just look at the surface.

And, once you delve deeper past the surface, the truth is practically laid out before your eyes. In her core, Litchi is Neutral Good, moving to Orient Town and protecting the town, finding ways to preserve the Kaka clan's existence, and essentially helping everyone in need that she can all while devising a way to destroy or save an old friend. When she decides there's a chance of saving him, the story's progression reveals that she made choices that actually infringed upon Lawful Good territory. While she forcibly joins the evil organization NOL and working with Relius and Hazama (both of whom she greatly detests), and siding with Relius in desperate hopes of creating a new world where Roy can even live in normally, she never betrays her personal code of helping others in need (in a given example, calming down an upset, violent and distraught Carl), only attacking others under orders of Relius. By the end of the series, she's back to her Neutral Good ways once everything is said and done.

What in the world are 'Drives'? Ragna's 'Soul Eater' is mentioned in his CS story when fighting Terumi, but these Drives are never really brought up in anyone else's story. So, what exactly are they?

The 'D' button. It's generally an ars magus/Nox nyctores. Lambda's is the Idea Engine, a mechanical ars. Tager's is probably just advanced tech. Rachel's is sorcery.

Okay, so Ragna's would simply be his Azure Grimoire, right? It's not some other form of Armagus he uses? In Calamity Trigger's story mode, Ragna can cast Ars to camouflage himself and 'unlock doors'. Is it possible for Ragna to use any form of Ars if he took the time to learn them? Is it possible for anyone else to learn ars using their Drives?

Well, Ragna's is freaking powerful. Unlock could also mean that he just shattered the protection magic with overwhelming force. In theory, anyone can use basic ars magus. Most characters in the game, however, are powered by a nox, giving them unique powers. The Teach Me Ms Litchi section does mention that vigilantes are issued a capture ars, meaning that almost any Joe Schmoe can use it if given proper clearance. Also, people have different aptitudes for ars, as mentioned by Hazama, some got it and some didn't, and the Teach Me Mrs Litchi section mentioned different usage and efficiency. Bang is the only one in the cast that can't use ars.

About your first point, yeah, it is said in the very beginning of CT's story that "... Okay. Unlocking isn't really the word." or something like this.

Also Drives are generally more of a gameplay mechanic than a story thing. Bang's Furinkazan isn't too important in the story, except for his ending in CS. I haven't done Makoto's story yet, but I don't think her charging up attacks makes a big difference either. Its just an easy to understand gameplay mechanic.

Uh... how did Bang decided to go to Ikaruga at the end? Nobody told him that Ikaruga is in danger, or that NOL is heading for Ikaruga, or that Lord Tenjou's son is located at Ikaruga. So who told him that there'll be something big in Ikaruga so he has to head there to protect it?

Trinity did mention something to Bang about Ikaruga and his Nox Nyctores.

"I believe he calls himself 'Arakune' now." When did he ever call himself this? When her memories of Lotte are erased in a Bad End, Litchi remembers Arakune as "that thing which attacks the Kaka Village". But they don't call him "Arakune", they call him "Squiggly".

It's probably just a nickname derived from infamy. Arakune has been reported to hang around Orient town as well as the Kaka village. The wanted posters must kinda look lame when it says "Squiggly."

Actually, it's because Kokonoe has been observing him, which enables her to understand what Arakune has been saying the entire time. Odds are when she started and tried to communicate with him before he went loose, Arakune introduced himself as, well, Arakune.

You know, I was wondering why Kokonoe and Tager are perfectly civil with Litchi joining NOL and instead goes on the route of Angst? What Angst?. Especially Kokonoe, with all her personality quirks, her reaction would be more like extremely pissed off and may probably plan to kill Litchi or something.

To be fair we don't see any of the sector 7 members talk to Litchi after the joining, so it's unfair to assume that we know how they feel. Kokonoe is also shown to be a Tsundere, allowing Tager to kick Litchi's ass, but was also nice enough to prevent Sector 7 from recapturing her as Tager pointed out. I guess Litchi's actions in the sequel will really determine what happens.

If Kokonoe could see what Ragna sees after he absorbed the Idea Engine, she should've noticed. Unless Kokonoe has a plan behind this all, I really find it jarring that she'll just stay silent. After all, judging from the situation, either Litchi would be pissed off enough at Sector Seven for ignoring her pleas that she decides to leak their information to NOL, or NOL forces her to do it against her will. Either way, unlike last time when Litchi's search for Arakune is still considered harmless for Kokonoe, there would be a danger present to Kokonoe...then she just... laughs in the face of danger?

I'm confused about the continuum shift. Everyone makes it seem like it's first time something like that happened, but several story lines including Hakumen's, and Litchi's suggest that those events happened before, even though they are all experiencing a continuum shift. It even suggests that the timeline is still capable of looping such as Bang's bad ending. This is also the whole reason why the NOL wanted the Master Unit destroyed. Is the continuum shift something that happens periodically and the story paths follow the same vein as Calamity Trigger's where the Bad Endings are alternate timelines?

Continuum shift meant that nothing was going to repeat exactly any more. While it's not the first time it happened, it is still a cautious moment where history lacks certainty. Rachael warns that anything can happen. However, Takamagahara can and will reset if the scenario does not meet their satisfaction. All the alternative scenarios are what would happen when the probabilities go certain directions. The true end happened because Terumi saw all the possibilities and made his move for the best outcome. Time will no longer reset

It seemed more like the continuum shift consisted of a single block of time with all of the plotlines happening at once, in parallel in some sort of Schroedinger's Box arrangement so that Takamagahara could choose its (their?) preferred outcome to observe and make real (yay for the Quantum Wantum Ball). Terumi managed to somehow weasel his consciousness back and forth from different points in the could-have-beens to find HIS ideal outcome instead. And holy CRAP it took a long time!

So Jin is listed to be born in England... what kind of British parent named their children with such a Japanese-sounding name like 'Jin'? Or was 'Jin' just a name made up by Caelica?

Being born born in England doesn't mean he had to have British parents. Especially when it's hinted that all three siblings were artificially created.

This one thing bugged me. Litchi's decision to keep clinging on Arakune can be said to be irrational to the point of joining NOL. However, if she decided to not save Arakune and just kill him already, she is slapped with a Bad End...and in the "Help Me! Prof. Kokonoe!" section, Robo-Kokonoe told her to think calmly and carefully...the result of which is still clinging to Arakune and joining NOL. The hell is this Fridge Logic? Which one is supposed to be rational and why?

I believe the "Good Ending" has less to do with actually being good, and more being the ending that's actually canon.

No, no, it wasn't about good or bad, canon or non-canon, but rational thinking. How did it go that rationally thinking means joining NOL? That was supposed to be the 'rational thinking'? I just find it impossible to find any rationality in that decision. Care to explain why?

The reason it is 'rational thinking' is because she is explicity stated to be dying and turning into something like Arakune and the NOL is the group that offered to give here the resources and more importantly (to her at least) heal Arakune. While Sector Seven could probably prevent any further damage to her, magic would make it much easier to heal her wounds, espcially considering they have skill with boundary related problems. Also, the NOL is not an entirely evil organization, and Hazama/Terumi obviously tricked her into it, tempting and manipulating her even having Relius capture Arakune. For her at least, its more of a "I did what I had to do" than a selfish evil act.

So... risking to destroy Carl's newfound trust on adults is something rational? As well as joining the very organization that her apprentice Linhua clearly hates (she went aggressive even on Noel who was just being treated by Litchi)? Admittedly this is used to many haters to say about her drop in morality... citing that her complete ignorance to those she betrayed by going into NOL was looking like 'The only one she considers friends is Lotte only'. So was 'betraying' Carl, Linhua, Bang and any of her friends who aren't with NOL and not named Arakune... rational as well? And... why (whether it's rational or irrational)?

In this sense, thinking rationally more likely means thinking past simply killing Arakune. As seen in CT where she kills him, she realises that she did not want to kill him. Irrationality in the Help Me segment can be seen as saying in CT 'Lotte's still in there somewhere so I can still save him' and then suddenly saying in CS 'He's still there but he wants to die so I'll kill him'. It shows that she's completely disregarding anything she thought of from CT, effectively rendering it all moot. Take this with a grain of salt.

Perhaps, yes. But if we go by that line of thinking, it will end her in ignoring a million-of-a-chance of Arakune going sane and doing his damndest to show how much he cares, and then leaving behind and possibly betraying her other friends like Bang, Tao, Carl, and especially her NOL-hating apprentice Linhua by joining NOL. Perhaps the CT thinking and sticking with it could be rational, but does the actions that follow also end up being rational? Was sticking to be a moral character, staying with friends and never betraying them considered irrational here?

The Help Me segment telling her to think rationally is more for the player to choose the right path. The segment is meant to direct the player towards the choice that leads to the canon ending, not to direct the character (since they lose all memory of the segment after leaving). This is largely seen by the fact that Litchi has two decisions to make: the first being the one that the player can choose an outcome for and the second being her joining the NOL that the player cannot influence. Thinking rationally only applies to the player making their way to the true end, otherwise, most likely, options would have been placed after the first decision directing her to do what the player wanted her to do from there. Nowhere in any of the segments does Kokonoe refer to future decisions that a character makes so she doesn't mean every choice from that point on must be rational

Most of Kokonoe's advices tend to refer to the character as well, even if they lose the memory from the segment. As in, when advising Valkenhayn, she says "Trust your mistress". She definitely placed you, the player, to the character's shoes, rather than just directing to the player. This will tie in to the birth of Litchi's Hate Dumb. It IS rational to eventually avoid her slow, inevitable death, but is it rational to betray friends for that? I'd like to know if the haters actually had a point that she was being irrational afterwards.

Why do people think that Amaterasu was destroyed at the end of CS? It's explicitly stated that it's located deep within the Boundary and has the power of a god, which was why Terumi needed Kusanagi to destroy it. Not to mention, Saya's line, "I have brought the Master Unit to ruin," doesn't necessarily mean that Amaterasu was destroyed, but rather more likely means that its options are now more limited since she controls Takamagahara.

She doesn't control Takamagahara. It was rendered inert and useless after Hazama delivered a super-powerful Logic Bomb to it, causing it to crash. This really just means that the computer can't cause any more time repeats, so they can finally get something done without the fear of it all being reset. But you're right, they never explicitly state that she destroyed it, so it may be plausible that they simply put Takamagahara out of commission, so that Saya could access the Master Unit unimpeded, and "change" it to where no more continuum shifts would occur. She probably controls it (Amaterasu) right now.

I think the last sentence is jossed. Hazama's CP story text intro says he's still finding ways to destroy Amaterasu. Therefore, it's more probable that they haven't gotten into Amaterasu. Imperator's words seem to imply more like "We now have a clear path to Amaterasu, so with our power, it's doomed.". They haven't controlled it, and even it's rumored to be CP's giant final boss, so it's very probable that it's not out of commission... yet.

So most of the Characters have Nox Nyctores, but Tsubaki is only in possesion of an Ars Armagus. Now, while Terumi giving her a weaker weapon than the people she was supposed to hunt hardly shocks me, my point is, how is she expected to kill these two when she does not have anywhere near as much power. Did she even stand a chance?

Considering the Heroic R.R.O.D. for its continuous use and how much this particular Ars Armagus is treasured by the Yayoi Family, so far one can only assume the Izayoi has equiparable power to some Nox Nyctores, it might even be the most powerful Ars Armagus around.

The end of her arcade mode has Hazama expressing that he actually expected her to fail, using her fight with Noel as a catalyst to make it easier to Mind Rape her into Mu-12.

Nox Nyctores are powerful Armagus, but not on a different scale, the distinction is actually that all Nox Nyctores are 'Causality Weapons', able to change probability. Considering that Taokaka fights at a similar level to the rest of the cast without an Armagus or similar tool at all, to say Tsubaki stands no chance because of a difference in type of weapon is overly simplified.

Is Teach Me, Miss Litchi! <Reloaded> supposed to be taken partially seriously or not? The orginal Teach Me, Miss Litchi! was very assertive in stating that no events and characterization should be taken into account for the canon storyline, that's okay as nothing new is given in these hilarious segments, but then the sequel came and is surprisingly insightful about background information that is barely mentioned in the main story, such as How the Vigilantes Work, The Duodecin and The Nox Nyctores; the Noxes part is even more impressive as it gives completely new information that is not mentioned in main story at all: Bang's Phoenix and (Something)Rettenjou ability to destroy other Noxes, the main storyline only went as far as to say it can sever connections with The Boundary.

The basic rule for those segments seems to be that if it's said in front of a chalkboard and it isn't directly about anyone in the room, it's true.

So how does Bang use Furinkazan if he hasn't activated his Nox yet? It seems to be a unique ability, and while he's still weaker than, well, everyone (for now), he seems to be the only character capable of some kind of superhuman feat without the aid of a Nox or an Armagus.

He's a mash up of many hotblooded characters, be they from Mecha driven shows, Tokusatsu in general or the average Super Ninja presented in anime and manga medium. With that said, many other fictional Ninjas such as Bang are able to perform magical techniques or extreme showcases of superhuman strength by just training really hard, his Fu-Rin-Ka-Zan art is no different than many other super secret forbidden arts available for other super ninjas. Also you seem do forget that Bang possibly has fire-breathing techniques too - as seen in one of CT's Joke Endings - making the Fu-Rin-Ka-Zan not that special in comparison. Conclusion: fictional Super Ninjas + Hard Work = being able to do almost anything.

Ah, but that is my point. It's been stated that most magic is done through either a nox, or an Armagus, and that only few characters have real magic. Now we have a character, besides Rachel, Nine, and Phantom (who may be Nine) who can use what is a magical ability. More evidence that the Joke character has always been much more dangerous than anyone who gave him credit. Ninpou (ninja magic) is still magic.

In all fairness, the characters who have stated the possible source and use of magic in the world are the ones whose knowledge comes from the NOL teachings and information databases so it's possible there are other sources of magic power out there - reinforced by how Nine and Platinum were proficient witches even before the Noxes and Armagus existed - therefore until is outright explained why Bang can perform techniques that can only be seen as geared by magic, there are only two possible explanations: 1) He can do all that by sheer hard work and training. 2) The Ikaruga Federation has their own methods of infusing magic power into their warriors.

Ninjitsu exists in real life. It's just more about illusions and sleights, like modern "magic." Perhaps Bang's supposed magic abilities are actually just very well-done Badass Normal techniques?

... So why is everyone still thinking Ragna is out to free the world from the clutches of the oppressive NOL? He's a good guy, but his reasoning of destroying NOL wasn't because "NOL, you dare oppress the innocents! I will protect them!" but "NOL, you pissed me off! Get destroyed!". He's not really a Robin Hood-esque guy who fights for the weak, but solely for himself. His claim of trying to take down NOL wasn't born out of the will to protect people, but more of a Badass Boast... closer to Chaotic Neutral than Chaotic Good.

Mind sharing with us who exactly this everyone is? Not once has this troper thought Ragna was in a quest to save the world from the seemly oppressive force of the NOL, are you sure this isn't a case of Misaimed Fandom instead? Though the fact that Ragna is obviously following his own agenda and pretty much kills any in his path is a case of All There in the Manual. Still he is The Protagonist, while not The Hero per se, Ragna is the focus of everything, so it's obvious some Fanon will portray him as a hero. Also his Pet the Dog and Cuteness Proximity moments boosts his popularity and the false of sense of Big Good quite a notch.

It's mostly here on TV Tropes, especially in the earlier stages of CT. A lot of YMMV stuffs put Ragna as a Robin Hood-esque hero, Chaotic Good, fight to free the world from NOL oppression...and hell, NOL itself is viewed as a Palpatine-levelEmpire due to its 'oppression' (with or without Ragna). A lot of people never bothered to fix those so it's like TVTropes accept that Ragna is like Robin Hood, not a Lighter and Softer version of Kratos. Although doing that may risk of putting tons of Leather Pants on Hazama/Terumi. Regardless, even if Ragna is brutal, he will always be the Face and anyone dare oppose him (especially NOL) will be considered Heel... but is it really true?

In the collected materials, Ragna destroys NOL facilities not because of any heroic ideal, but neither is it solely based on revenge. Jubei explained that the NOL possess cauldrons and explains to young Ragna that it could create a new Black Beast. Additionally, if you knew that some military higher-ups were responsible for the kidnapping of your family, destruction of your home and murder of your only parent figure, you'd want some answers too. Besides, everyone in the world kinda views the NOL through jade tinted glasses, but they're a group that offers safety and stability... Despite the fact their Imperator and her two right hands are the pinnacle of evil.

Not sure about putting Saya as the pinnacle of evil since her turn to evil was really, really vague. The only pinnacles of evil thus far are Hazama and Relius.

.... So, why is it that besides of having Hazama, Relius and a possibly manipulated Imperator, everyone here seems to deem NOL on the whole as a tyrannical, irredeemable Empire? Let's remember that aside of those three (and Phantom), most of them were random Joes who were minding their own business, and could very well be likable if you get to know them. And while they did step outta line a bit with "Anyone in possession of Ars Magus without permission will be executed", can anyone imagine what would happen if the wrong people gained access to the Ars Magus? Are they the tyrannical dictatorship Empire with no good intentions and only wants to rule the world, or are they trying to keeping it safe? (Of course, the manipulations are inexcusable, but it's not their fault...)

As with many stories that mostly offer only one perspective, we are rarely shown, if at all, the day-to-day lives of the average Joes working in the organization. You're definitely right about a lot of them potentially being good folks, but since we never really get conclusive evidence for it, and since it is uncertain that they know what their Imperator and her attack dogs are up to, not to mention the fact that we are supposed to sympathize with those who are fighting the NOL, it's easier to consider the whole thing a tyrannical empire, despite the fact that they are probably keeping the world in check. It's the same way Afro can be considered a Villain Protagonist: we see his backstory and get some sympathy for him, while his enemies, who are searching for the headbands and probably have suffered as much, if not worse, never have theirs explored.

Look no further than Noel in CT for a good example. She's with NOL, yet her academy days weren't filled with lots of NOL staff being assholes but as someone in for their paycheck only or due to familial stuff (Tsubaki and Makoto also count). One or two bad people does not define the whole organization. Also, does that mean that Kokonoe, who is ready to nuke and level down a whole city just to get her revenge, is sympathetic because the target of her revenge is one of those bad people and the casualties caused by them are to be excused to be 'sacrificed For Great Justice'? And does that mean, for instance, Litchi, who is in NOL solely for the cure of Arakune rather than agreeing to their dictatorship rule, INSTANTLY become less sympathetic than Kokonoe despite not really having destructive tendencies... SOLELY because she's IN NOL? Is that what was meant with we are supposed to sympathize with those who are fighting the NOL, it's easier to consider the whole thing a tyrannical empire?

Well, that's fair. I admit that was a generalization, but those points you made were definitely not the ones I meant. I think the problem lies in the fact that the medium is a video game. Particularly, it's a fighting game. I'll be the first to admit that I'm probably wrong on this, but I think you rarely get a lot of people playing games of this type for the story. Generally, it's about the moves, combos, character rosters, etc. And even if you get over that and the players start caring about the characters and their stories, you can run into bias problems that tend to result from playing as these characters through their story modes. Imagine if there were more characters available like Tsubaki and Noel, who were in the NOL from the get-go but didn't have any real intentions of harming innocent people (I'm not so certain whether Makoto counts as well, since she was a double-agent for Sector Seven, but then again, she's probably not aware of the dirty laundry there). When you follow a particular character's story, especially in video games where things are interactive, you are expected to grow with them and feel for them. That makes it difficult to step back and observe the characters and story from an objective point of view. I will admit again that I might be wrong and I'm missing something, so feel free to disagree.

The thing is, BlazBlue fandom has a tendency to exaggerate lots of things, NOL's 'Empire'-ness is one of them (last time, Jin's Jerkassery was dialled Up to Eleven despite some soft spots of his in the past). And it has overarched in TV Tropes, it was painful to read. I may even make some Analysis that bust out these myths. Playability does not really count. Kokonoe and Jubei enjoy MASSIVE popularity even when they're not playable. I think people try to defend Kokonoe more than, say, Litchi, because at least she's a good guy fighting the villain rather than someone who supports the villain despite not really agreeing to his principals. This 'Empire-ness' of NOL has caused the definition of Heel–Face Turn and Face–Heel Turn to be twisted, especially the latter. Did Litchi REALLY do a Face–Heel Turn solely for joining NOL, even if her principal of saving people hasn't changed? Did Tsubaki sticking with NOL counts as a Face–Heel Turn, despite, you know, being raised from age zero to serve NOL, and some Mind Rape? They really haven't crossed the Moral Event Horizon or admited that Evil Feels Good, so why are they Heels for being with NOL? This gets so silly that it's as if the motto of BlazBlue alignment is: "Are you with NOL/Hazama/Relius? If yes, then you're a Heel. Boo!"

Hmm...come to think of it, was there ever a moment in someone's story where someone reminded them that the NOL, despite Ikaruga and perhaps some too-strict practices, is still keeping the peace? Or that there's a good chance that most of the PunchClockVillains out there probably don't know what's really going on? I will agree, there seems to be a lack of a middleground for who're the good and bad guys. And I will admit, playability can't account for everything, given that you're right about Kokonoe and Jubei being popular yet non-playable, but it's still something of a factor. I'm starting to wonder what people's views would have been had most of the cast not been trolled. Would things be less hyperboled? Would things seem less personal?

There's never been a case that showed that NOL directly triggered Ikaruga to 'rebel', it's more like Ikaruga was unsatisfied with how NOL runs things and started a rebellion on their own rather than being incited by NOL. Punch-Clock Villain? Well, let's look at how Ragna usually raided NOL branches before CT: Everyone is killed, no exceptions. Even if that person was a defenseless woman, or just a man getting his paycheck, no mercy. Also let's consider who voiced their protests on NOL thus far: mostly Sector Seven, who DID oppose them in a way. Everyone was pretty much fine, if a bit annoyed, with their elitist attitude. As far as hyperbolizing, I do not think that was because of the trolling, but more like overexcited fans who like hyperboles and it seems to be in the blood of TV Tropes, thereby making BlazBlue fans look... well...foppish?

It is never elaborated how the Ikaruga war started, but it is implied that NOL and Ikaruga purposedly prolonged the war for their own purposes (war is a convenient cover up for gathering souls to feed the murakumos). It is implied that Jin was Kicked Upstairs to desk job because he ended the war prematurely, with minimal bloodshed on both sides to boot.

I'm a little confused about the time loops. How far does one repetition cover before things start over again? Also, is there any official age given to the characters aside from estimates? The only one I can recall off the top of my head is Noel's age.

1) It covers up till the caudron activates/Ragna tries to destroy it/Nu awakens in Kagutsuchi, either one or all three at the same time. 2) None of the characters have canon ages, aside from the 5 years old Noel.

Ah, thanks. With regard to your first answer, though, does each repetition start with the arrival of the Black Beast in the past?

Pretty much, as far it is shown, Ragna is directly involved with all the three possibilities mentioned above, so he and Nu ends up forming the Black Beast in one way or another. That is what is shown to us, though; it is said that the shifts are much more complex than that, so there must be a shift where the Black Beast doesn't rise.

Ah, but in that case, what would happen if the Black Beast doesn't appear? How do the events play out, then? If my understanding of this is correct, there has to be some way for the Black Beast to be formed and then sent into the past at the end of each loop, right? If Ragna's obtainment of the Azure Grimoire is in the form of its remains, then how would he go about his business in those loops without the creature to die and provide him his new arm?

It is hinted in the material collections that Ragna and his siblings are artificial humans created from the Black Beast DNA taken from its corpse. In short, without the Black Beast, none of the three would have been born to begin with.

Blazblue has a Stable Time Loop going on. Ragna might have been created from the body of the Black Beast but he goes back in time to be Bloodedge and delay the Black Beast for a year. Ragna is given the sword and jacket of the original Bloodedge but then goes back in time to become Bloodedge. Mitsuyoshi takes up the name of Jubei in memory of Bloodedge calling him that, even though Bloodedge only used that name because Ragna knew the name of Jubei in the future. The Black Beast emerged from the Cauldron after going back in time and being created by the fusion of the two pieces of the Azure Grimoire made from the remains of the Black Beast. It is confusing and a large Temporal Paradox but that is how it works. As for the actual looping time from Calamity Trigger, I am pretty sure the only part actually being repeated is from when Ragna arrives at Kagutsuchi onwards. This is the only place we see with deviations, as all of the mythos and past events remain consistent. Only the time period we see is being looped. As for ages, there are some given but not many. Assuming Blazblue Wiki is getting correct information from the material collections, Tao is 14, Kokonoe is 15 (somehow, I’m still not sure how that works because I thought Nine was supposedly killed by Terumi much earlier), and Makoto is 17. The only one confirmed in game is Noel being 5 years old.

Platinum. Why does she exist? For me she fires seventeen alarms of anime cliches(and not in a fun way, like Taokaka, who doesn't sit on the game's plot and manages to be funny sometimes, but Platinum seems to do so, with several hints dropping of her importance), and her bratty side is insanely annoying to me. What bugs me... is there any chance of her becoming a day savingMary Sue Sailor Moon reject? Or am i just being paranoid? Note: it's not because the character is newly introduced.

It seems to me she exists for the following reasons: 1) Tell Bang he has a Nox Nyctores 2) Introduce the last of the six heroes 3) Make Ragna extremely uncomfortable (Particularly in his joke ending

I'll expand to 2)'s side. The arcades of CS2 gives insight that Platinum hosts the soul of Trinity which was goaded to a guilt-trip by Terumi about causing Nine's death. With Trinity's appearance, there will be a chance that we'll get deeper to how Nine became Phantom in detail. Likewise, her appearance may be Jubei's plan all along to screw around with Terumi, like telling Bang's Nox. There's a theory that Platinum said that so maybe Bang stands a chance to pluck Litchi out of NOL services and in the end, hinders Terumi's plans with her. Platinum certainly isn't a Mary Sue, especially since many characters think her bratty side highly annoying as well. To be honest, Platinum looks less Sue than Noel and in no way would steal the spotlight. In other words, I'm sorry my fellow troper, but you seem paranoid. Well who am I to say when I was paranoid on Litchi being not good all along and will revel in her antagonist status.

Besides, one of Hakumen's arcade win quotes against Platinum in CS 2 implies that Platina prefers to be "a spectator to the end." Perhaps Platina is even an Observer. In any case, if Pt T fights a truly story-changing battle in the third game, it's more likely that Luna and Sena will be overwhelmed by Platina's dormant persona for some time in a big Let's Get Dangerous! moment.

Kushinada's Linchpin. What is it, anyway, another name for Bang's inactive Nox Nyctores, or something ELSE Bang possesses? All we really know about it, as far as I've been able to tell, is that it had something to do with Nine's father, and Relius is interested in it. I know, mysterious stuff that won't be revealed is par for the course in BB, but I'm just concerned as to what it means for Bang and his importance to the plot for the next installment...

The lynchpin was created in order to seal off the Boundary by one the scientists working under Relius during the original Cauldron experiment. He did this because he felt wary of the experiment since it was done under the instructions of an "unknown green-haired man" (obviously Terumi). In order to seal off the Boundary, it needs to be used alongside a key. He intended to use it when the Black Beast was released, but the key was missing. (It's not clear if he lost it or if it was stolen.)

Okay this is a rather weird headscratcher, but anybody wonder how Litchi could get those humongous breasts of hers? Is it...

Because she's born that way?

Because she's following a super tight body-building program (diet, or martial arts training included)?

Because the Boundary is giving her extra cup sizes?

Pretty sure she's just a very busty woman in a world where many of the prominent female characters (Bullet, Makota, Nine, Tsubaki) are already quite large themselves. Given that super-feminine Noel gets mistaken for a boy or a crossdresser for having what looks like a B-cup, I'd say it's just the artists and devs choosing to average breasts on the larger side.

Play as Mu-12 in Arcade and get beaten by Bang... then Bang says Mu-12 has no killing intent. What the hell? Wasn't she so intent to kill everyone and destroy the world? Did Bang see what is beyond the Mu-12 veil, or he's an idiot for thinking too much at this moment?

Mu-12, while generated from Noel's hatred, incarnate nothingness - her goal is to destroy everything, including herself. ("If the world dies so shall I!") She doesn't have any killing intent because that would imply that she's targeting something in particular.

What age is Kokonoe? I heard somewhere that she is 15 but that doesn’t make sense. Maybe this is explained in the Phase Shift novels (which I have not read) but she would have to have been born before Nine was killed by Terumi. As far as I can tell that would mean she has to be at least 70 or 80. It’s confusing because she seems so much younger than that. Is this explained in the novels? Is there a plot hole? I can’t tell.

We don't know the specifics, but she's definitely older than 15. She even confesses as much in Makoto's Help Me!! segment.

"I'm way older than you, Makoto! As in 'If I had 'em, they'd be down to my KNEES' old!"

There's also this bit when she's talking to Ragna after giving him his new arm.

"It's been over twenty years since we saw each other in person... guess neither of us gets old real fast."

We know that each NOL personnel when fighting always have a "We are the Knight of the Blue Flame" Badass Creed. But... why doesn't Relius do that when he fights fellow NOL characters?

It's possible that he isn't a Knight of the Blue Flame, as we still don't know precisely what the term refers to. One possible explanation is that all of the other NOL characters are "field agents;" they go out into the world and act on the will of the NOL. Relius, in contrast, is part of the engineering corps; in theory, he should never be in a position where combat is necessary.

And neither is Hazama, it seems. His position is Intelligence Division, right? Err... so what's he doing strolling around and enjoying citing that Badass Creed? Or was Intelligence Division is part of 'field combat'?

Well, Makoto and Hazama are required to have battle expertise if they encounter adversities while on mission, apparently. Relius is just a scientist.

Come to think of it, are they even aware that Relius is away from his research post? Or is he citing it as 'field work' when he actually means 'trying to find a Magic Nuke'? Then again, the Imperator hardly disapproves of what he's working on in the field...

It's worth noting that Hazama does the 'Knights of the Blue Flame' creed when he fights against Tsubaki in Chronophantasma.

Okay, maybe it's because the plot is confusing, or maybe it was explained and I just didn't get it, but there's some I'm confused about. Exactly, how did Makoto screw with Hazama's plan? Her just showing up and knowing about Noel, even if she doesn't know why that's important is treated as very dangerous. Despite that, Tsubaki still dies in the WOF timeline, and Hazama's grand plan still goes off as expected. So why'd he make such a big deal out of it? Plus, the world's stuck in a time loop. Why's it matter what happens in one timeloop if everything just resets? Why would Hazama care about any time loop aside from the one where he finally manages to turn Noel into Kusanagi?

We’re never given a clear answer as to what Hazama’s plan was in the Wheel of Fortune timeline. It is possible that his plan was not just for Tsubaki to die and everything to reset. You have to remember that the Wheel of Fortune timeline takes place in the time loops of Calamity Trigger, not Continuum Shift. He wasn’t trying to make Kusanagi yet because he needed to break the time loop first. He cares because every time he fails he has to sit through another time loop of unknown length before he can try again. Whatever his plan was, his failure wastes a lot of time, especially because the Wheel of Fortune timeline is a very rare phenomenon due to the absence of Noel. My guess is that he was practicing his Mind Rape of Tsubaki to see if he could use her to push Noel over the Despair Event Horizon and the presence of Makoto, her best friend, interferes greatly with Hazama’s manipulations.

On the subject of time loops, every time a new one starts, Terumi has to get brainwashed by Nine, fight the Black Beast, get banished to the Boundary, constantly evade annihilation by Hakumen until Takamagahara paroles him, and set everything back up just the way he wants it before he can try again. While he has it down as rote by now, having to do it a million times (literally?) has made him very irritable. And in one of those time loops, he figured that Jin Kisaragi demonstrates characteristics similar to the aforementioned Hakumen - if there's one step he can go without, it's being chased by Hakumen. In Slight Hope, he gets his big chance to kill Jin after all that setup, and he couldn't possibly be happier... until Continuum Shift Makoto shows up and messes up the hit. Terumi immediately changes gears from "kill Jin" to "set Jin up to die and kill the damned squirrel, too", sending Relius off to get Jin as bait for Makoto while he mindrapes Tsubaki. Her meeting with Tager gives her an easy out, missing Relius the first time; sending Bang off to recover Jin keeps Relius more permanently preoccupied. And Terumi had other matters to attend to that left Tsubaki's mindrape half-done, and in the interim, CS!Makoto shows up and asks her about Noel. Thinking about a girl that doesn't exist takes Tsubaki's mind off the mindrape and helps realign her towards rescuing Jin... and getting herself killed, fulfilling the criteria that allows Jin to become Hakumen. Terumi took several years setting all of that up just to eliminate Hakumen forever, and Makoto turned it into shit in mere hours - and he will never get another chance. While much of this is not explicitly stated, connecting the dots between Slight Hope and Wheel of Fortune should help piece things together, but I can't guarantee the accuracy of this assessment. It's the best possible explanation I can come up with, given the evidence available.

So, if I've got this right, Hazama's evil plan in Continuum Shift is to kidnap Noel Vermillion, turn her into Mu-12 and kill God, thus ending the time loops. In the True Ending, this is derailed when Ragna stops Mu and frees Noel. Except basically every single story and arcade mode has Hazama succeed in both capturing Noel and creating Mu-12. So basically, Hazama is able to win almost every single loop, probably because he knows what's going on better than anyone, by living through a lot of loops. But if his plan succeeds even once, then the time loops stop. In fact, if he could succeed in creating Mu-12 so easily, why didn't he just win there? Shouldn't we be treated to loop after loop of his plan failing, only for it to finally come together once he has all the pieces? Because otherwise, it seems like all the other loops ended with him and Mu-12 just standing around until time resets. And even if his real plan depended on Ragna defeating Mu so Hazama could eliminate Takamagahara, how did Observers like Takamagahara and Rachel not realize that he wasn't actually trying to win?

You got it wrong - the time loop was shattered at the end of Calamity Trigger. Even then, it's not so simple. Terumi's ultimate plan, as stated, was to eliminate Takamagahara. However, Takamagahara was monitoring every possibility of the continuum shift, and Terumi's plan involved exploiting a blind spot to slip in and do the deed - any other time, Takamagahara would have caught him waltzing in and forced a reset anyway - Takamagahara's domain is extracontinuual, so it would be too late to reset once Terumi was inside. And even then, there were instances where events were going awry within Terumi's ability to control (Slight Hope takes place in an alternate timeline during the time loops of Calamity Trigger, as previously established, and it was cemented with a prior reset and Makoto's escape from that timeline), and he could force a reset by killing whoever was within his power (killing Carl, letting Relius kill Tager, killing himself when he nearly lost to Jin by backvaulting into a cauldron). Within the arcade mode iterations, events could happen that could force a reset - either Mu-12 terminating someone off schedule, Relius making someone late for an appointment, Mu-12 itself being terminated, or other events that send Terumi's plans off the rails (like anything Rachel or Makoto do). Terumi needed to guide events the way he wanted them in an exact manner to do what he needed to do - suffice it to say without Takamagahara around anymore, he won't have this kind of luxury in the future.

In BBCS material collection, it is stated that making Mu was Takamagahara's plan, NOT Terumi's plan. Terumi was only executing it based on Takamagahara's order. From the beginning, Terumi's plan was to kill Takamagahara so it was not Terumi's win when Mu was created.

Probably one of the more inconsequential "headscratchers" on this page: does Litchi normally go by a Last-Name Basis when addressed by other characters? Her name would appear to be rendered in the traditional Asian order of "family name, given name" (similar to Wang Liu Mei) since Faye-Ling is hyphenated like how Chinese first names are (for those who have two first names) note having two first names doesn't necessarily require the hyphen, though, as indicated by Liu Mei above, much like Chun-Li, Hsien-Ko, Shi-Long Lang, etc. (the Anime Chinese Girl page has more than a few examples) and even various real life people like famed martial artist/folk hero Wong Fei-hung, actress Ming-Na Wen, etc.

I assume that's been rendered "given name, family name" for the benefit of us Westerners, and that she just doesn't happen to have a hyphenated first name. Unusual, perhaps, but not dramatically so.

Okay. So I get that in the True Ending of Calamity Trigger, the time loop is broken when Noel drags Ragna out of the caldron. But seriously. That's it? That's all they had to do? Keep him from falling in? Why was that such a difficult task? What about time loops where Ragna never made it to the caldron, or where Hakumen killed him first? How did none of those count as a legitimate 'end'? For that matter, how does Noel become the Eye of the Azure? Was it because she went near the caldron, or almost fell into it, or because her programming resurfaced while fighting Nu? Because Nu died and the world didn't end, so Noel became the last Murakumo standing? I guess my main issue here is that it seems like important stuff happened, but no one actually did anything. It just happened.

Saving Ragna isn't what caused the loop to end, it was Rachel using the Tsukuyomi Unit to stop Take-Mikazuchi from destroying Kagutsuchi that caused the change. In all of those alternate paths you mentioned Kagutsuchi still gets destroyed and Takamagahara resets the world. Ragna dying every time he faces Nu was something that was seen as fate, if he meets her he dies. Only by that fate changing, due to Noel's presence and her awakening as the Eye to reject that fate was Rachel spurned into action in stopping Take-Mikazuchi. Noel activated the Eye because she didn't want Ragna to die, and in doing so wanted to choose a reality with him surviving. This never happened before because of the infinite number of factors that can lead to this event, Ragna needed to go to the Cauldron, Noel needed to exist to therefore even be able to go to the cauldron, and then she needed to activate the Eye to save Ragna. All of this BEFORE Rachel made an action. It was not as simple as it sounds.

Why is Ragna trying to destroy the caldrons and kill the Murakumo Units? Were the units he fought at the other caldrons Nu-13 or different units altogether?

Jubei told Ragna that the Cauldron's could create another Black Beast, and Ragna is trying to prevent that. The implication is that any Murakumo Ragna killed was a predecessor of Nu. There cannot be a different unit because there is only one Soul of the Murakumo. Plus Nu mentions Ragna having killed her before in weaker bodies during Calamity Trigger.

Why did the Gigant: Take-Mitsuhuri satellite thingy fire at Kagutsuchi? Who is controlling it? The NOL? Hazama?

It's Take-Mikazuchi, in case you were wondering. And they don't really explain why it fires on Kagutsuchi, or by whose orders (who knows if they ever will). It could be assumed that the reason it was fired on Kagutsuchi was to destroy Nu-13, because it had already been used to destroy Mu-12 in the past, along with Ibukido (though it only kills Mu in one timeline). So who ever was using it might have wanted to destroy the remaining Murakumo units, for whatever reason.

Take-Mikazuchi was fired by Nine at the Black Beast during the war (Phase Shift 2), so it's probably under Terumi/the NOL's control via Phantom's magic. It fired at Ibukido, presumably in order to stop the scientists of Ikaruga from completing a Murakumo Unit. Most likely, the entire point of having it shoot at Kagutsuchi was to distract Rachel long enough for Terumi to pull his "LOOK AT ME!" gambit with Noel.

Rachel explicitly states in the true ending of Calamity Trigger that Take-Mikazuchi can only fire once every four years. Of course, this is due to the extremely low levels of seithr in space — in Chronophantasma, Izanami brings it down to earth to fire it more frequently.

Alright. We now know that Jin is Hakumen. I get that. However, there's still one thing that bugs me. The Susano'o unit that is currently Hakumen's body only holds a soul, not the user's actual body, right? So then, where the heck is Jin's body? Since he became 'ol Whiteface after falling into the cauldron and being sent into the past, I can understand that his body wouldn't be around anymore, but what happened to it? Did it get damaged and/or buried, put into to stasis in case he wanted to return to it at any time, or did they just leave it in a ditch somewhere? And just how does one extract the soul, and put it into the Unit? Hopefully not how Relius prefers to do it...

Jin's body was presumably disolved by the Black Beast or something - it was so messed up that he couldn't move, so it's doubtful that anyone bothered to salvage it. As for his soul, just look at that cutscene where Hazama 'forges' Kusanagi - extracted souls appear as spheres of light. Since Susano'o is made to house a soul, presumably it's just a matter of guiding it to the unit.

Okay, either my understanding of the time loops is flawed (in which case you cannot blame me, because timy-wimy stuff is complicated) or we have yet another mind aching matter at hand: Valkenhayn, Trinity, Nine and Jubei are all separate individuals, so they've always been a part of The Six Heroes but Hakumen is either Jin or Terumi. But Jin hadn't been sent back in time yet in the first/original timeline, right? And Terumi (presumably) cannot fill two positions in The Six Heroes at once, can he? So who was the Sixth Hero in the original timeline? Or were they, perhaps, just The Five Heroes back then? Also, what's Terumi's origins? Was he a human initially or had he been stuck in the Susanoo for god-knows-how-long before it was discovered and he broke free? And if he was a human, where did he learn about about Alchemy and all that jazz? How did he know how to create the Black Beast (or rather, the Kusanagi, what with the Black Beast being a failed Godslayer)?

In the beginning, there were only five heroes and Terumi was originally the one inside of the Susano'o Unit, only to eject himself (or his soul, rather) from it for reasons undisclosed (I think; someone correct me on that if I'm wrong). As you noted, Jin had not jumped into the Cauldron after Ragna and Nu in the original timeline; it wasn't until the time loops started that Hakumen came to exist, which is how the Five Heroes became the Six Heroes, with Hakumen as their leader. I can't vouch for Terumi's origins or the source of his knowledge; although he insinuates that that he's been along for a long time, possibly before the dawn of time, and is the closest thing the series has to the Devil in human guise, this is Terumi we're talking about. The man deals in trolling and half-truths.

Honestly you are better of not trying to think about the original timeline.For all intents and purposes there is no original timeline. If there were a timeline with Five Heroes everything would have been so different that it is unlikely those events would create the Blazblue timeline that would lead to certain characters going back in time to create the history we know. For instance the supposed original timeline would not have the presence of Bloodedge, so humanity should have been wiped out before they perfected Ars Magus. If there is an original timeline Jubei would never have changed his name from Mitsuyoshi and Blood-Scythe would never have existed. Blazblue has a Stable Time Loop. Hakumen was always Jin from the future. Terumi left the Susanooh Unit ended before he possessed Kazuma so that would not affect the legend of the Six Heroes. Ragna got his sword and jacket from himself and Jubei changed his name in honor of a friend who knew him by a different name in the future. Time doesn’t move in a straight line. It doesn’t matter that Jin didn’t exist yet because he would exist since he has to go back in time to become Hakumen. The first timeline is merely the first loop that the Observers experienced but it was not independent of the effects of Ragna and Jin’s time travel, which was connected to but separate from the time loops.

My question is, what's the point in playing the game? It just seems to me like a depressing exercise in hopelessness, where no one's actions mean anything except for the two main villains, who just keep making things suck more for everyone. Can someone convince me to play this game and have any hope in the story?

You Can't Thwart Stage One. And even if the two main villains are the only ones to achieve something, the main heroes also receive Character Development that may be necessary to thwart Stage 2, such as Noel coming to terms to her own identity, and Jin actually attempting to do something heroic for once, instead of lusting over his dear BRRRROOOOTTTHHHEEERRR all the time. CS Extend, according to Word of God, is only halfway through the story, there's still plenty of time for thwarting their plans, and if CP is to go by, I think some of Hazama's plans would be falling apart thanks to Caelica, and what with Jin succeeding in snapping Tsubaki out of her brainwashing and eventually setting her path to Heel–Face Turn, with her Super Mode to go. And Makoto's still out there to possibly ruin their plans, and the introduction of Kagura Mutsuki, described as a positive guy despite being the biggest badass of NOL. Just because Hazama and Relius have a high success rate in whatever they do, it doesn't mean you must lose hope... you mustn't. Losing hope is like giving the victory ticket to them. If that still doesn't click you, just play BB for the awesome fighting mechanic.

Oh, okay. This actually gives me hope for the story. Maybe I will pick the games up.

The Nox Nyctores were created to fight against the Black Beast... so what's the point of making Ouroboros, a weapon that can mind rape, when it's supposed to be used against mindless killing machine?

The Black Beast isn't completely mindless - at least it wasn't at the moment when Hakumen killed it in the "Innocent Black" short-story. Also, it's possible that Ouroboros' ability to mess with people's mind is simply an extension of the Nox Nyctores' general ability to restrain their user's emotions. Alternatively, because Terumi had at least some role in it's development and this is the kind of things that he'd want.

If Japan was wiped off the face of the Earth by the Black Beast, why does almost everyone and everything have Japanese names?

Seeing as how three of the Six Heroes were refugees from Japan and the other three had backgrounds that they couldn't really share, I'd say it's reasonable that the NOL would adopt Japanese culture.

Japan was indeed destroyed, but that doesn't mean every Japanese man, woman, and child was as well. Additionally, the Hierarchical Cities are basically cities that are hundreds of feet over the world's surface in elevation. I do believe one of the cities is placed over where Japan used to be.

This could just be a case of Gameplay and Story Segregation, but during the portion of the story modes in CS and CP where Ragna's unable to use Soul Eater, why isn't he able use the Drive attacks that involve Blood-Scythe? Most of his Drive moves are just him covering his sword with darkness, it can't be that hard to simply remove the darkness-stuff from the attack animation, and just restrict moves like the Hell's Fang followup and Dead Spike, could it?

It was a matter of Gameplay And Story Intergration mixed with immersion. Ragna's Azure Grimoire is his right eye and arm, so when disabled by say, Terumi or Celica, his right eye is blinded and his right arm is paralyzed. In the case of Terumi negating the Azure Grimoire, Ragna's sword arm was weakened enough to be unable to support Bloodscythe. He's simply not strong enough to use his moves without his dominant arm.

It's entirely possible that this was properly explained and I was just too stupid/inattentive to understand it but, what exactly is the relationship between Hazama and Terumi? I thought that Hazama was just Terumi possessing a different body but then in CP they're treated like they're separate characters or personalities at the end. Terumi even says that Hazama asked him to do a favor at one point. Can someone explain that to me?

Just like with Kazuma in Phase Shift 1, apparently the Hazama body had a mind of its own. They mention that Relius made the body to be as close to Terumi's mind as possible so they could fuse more easily. From what I can gather this means that they are seperate people, but Terumi is in control all the time, unless he is seperated.

Basically its like this When Terumi abandoned his old body, he became a spirit. In that past, Relius created a body for him to inhabit (Kazuma) and fuse with (mind and body), but due to an incident in the past (Nine's using Mind Eater on Terumi) it became impossible for Terumi to fully fuse his mind with that of the body he possesses. So basically Terumi (the spirit that was one of the six heroes) and Hazama (the original personality that inhabited the Hazama body) are two separate minds within the same body.

In CP, we learn that Ragna came back to the present after fighting the Black Beast. He left his coat and sword with Celica to be given back to him later (as in when he's finished training with Jubei later in the timeline), and he returns to the present sans coat and sword. When he gets back Kagura's place to yell at Kokonoe, he has his coat and sword back....where did he get them from?

Technically since the Black Beast was a combination of both CT Nu and CT Ragna, CP Ragna might have gotten the clothes and sword of CT Ragna within the black beast. The game doesn't show it, but in the Phase Shift Novel Ragna does have at least the jacket when Celica meets him within the Black Beast before he returned to the present so him not having those things in the game was kind of odd (though the game did gloss over a bunch of things from the novels, so it might be that they skipped it)

In the Remix Heart manga, the complete fusion between a human and a grimoire is called a Remix Heart, and Mai is one such thing (after she merged with the "No Name"). Then could that mean Ragna is a Remix Heart too, since he fuses with the Azure Grimoire? (Not to mention Izanami might cause Ragna to unwillingly fuse with it further...)

Only Ragna's arm was the grimoire; it's why only his arm was immobile when Celica deactivated it. In Mai's case the grimoire had fused with her entire body.

Litchi complains about her chest stopping her from wearing cosplay outfits, but what explains Bullet being able to wear them (she's close to Litchi's bust size)?

What exactly IS the Boundary? I haven't completed CPEX's story yet, but is it ever really explained? So Roy turned into Arakune, Haku-Men was there, and Terumi threw Nine and Trinity in right? If so, what dictates when someone is killed by it, or turn into something like Arakune

Hakumen's unwillingness to work with others is treated as a character flaw, but isn't that a bit of Informed Wrongness, during Continuum Shift at least? He doesn't want anything to do with Rachel, but Rachel for the most part isn't any better a team player than he is since she barely lifts a finger against Terumi's plans and keeps withholding information from Ragna that could help him like that Terumi has a better version of the Azure Grimoire, instead just saying the reasoning is "too complicated." Likewise in his good ending he's supposed to leave things up to Jin, and while Jin shows Character Development and starts to take a level in badass, in Hakuman's story he displays neither, in effect re-enforcing Hakumen's views that his past self can't do anything right.

The general idea is that while Hakumen is just another player in the overall game of the Continuum Shift, Rachel is an Observer; She, Terumi, Takamagahara, and possibly Kokonoe at the time have the Ripple Proof Memory that the rest of the cast doesn't benefit from. Rachel, with her knowledge of the timeloop, isn't allowed to take action directly without getting her status as an Observer revoked (which would either A) erase her from existance, or B) maker her just as hepless as the rest of the cast); the fact it's 'too complicated' is her way of saying 'It won't matter if I tell you now, you won't remember it the next time around.'. The best she can do is try to be an unseen chess player in the background. Hakumen, on the other hand, isn't restricted by that little metaphysical law. All we need is one version of Hakumen to develop that also coincides with the 'main' timeline in order to progress.

Why the fuck did Mori create Azrael and what the fuck does it do for the series plot? He literally is a mori's little oc power fantasy(tied with Hazama and Relius). And apparently he can't even stopped by Izanami. What does it take for a manly character to be a plot detriment to the point of being a joke gag cuz I don't see Bang beating up god like beings like Rachel while holding back.

I'm making assumptions here, but I think Azrael is the result of BlazBlue The Fighting Game needing an ever increasing cast while BlazBlue The Story had all the characters it needed by the end of Continuum Shift. Azrael doesn't really have a purpose being disrupting the plot and slowing down the story, but Bullet, Amane, Mai, and Naoto don't really do much for the narrative, either.

IIRC round the release of Chrono Phantasma Mori did an interview where he stated that they added Azrael because they wanted someone who could fight with anyone in the cast with it making sense story-wise. Basically he was added to give the series a wildcard who could go against anybody in the story.

If any character is Mori's power fantasy, it is Noel, since she gets the Mu-12 form and is the central heroine of the story, Ragna being more or less a diversion. Mori makes a point to give Noel more and more importance, outright getting annoyed when the artists try to give Noel a bigger bust (The ass is what matters!). Azrael being a wildcard is a pretty fun thing for the story, and even in terms of gameplay, it's satisfying to see him pummel everyone around like ragdolls.

I'm going to quote this straight from Death Battle, when Noel saved Ragna from falling in, it would prevent the Black Beast from appearing in the past, but then it wouldn't have created seither, and everything that runs on seither shouldn't work, or more appropriately, wouldn't exist. So... WHY IS EVERYTHING STILL USING SEITHER?!

Because Death Battle fails at doing research. Ragna did not stop the Black Beast from appearing in the past. The Black Beast appeared on December 31, 2099. The time loop only starts on January 1, 2100. The Black Beast's already exists outside the time loop and is fact. In truth Ragna and Nu only fused into a Black Beast successfully in one timeline, which is the one that appeared before the start of the time loop. In every other loop they are both killed before the fusion is complete when Take-Mikazuchi nukes Kagutsuchi. Noel saving Ragna did not change the Black Beast's appearance, all it did was change Ragna's fate of dying if he encounters Nu, which convinced Rachel to intervene and stop Takamagahara from forcing a reset using Take-Mikazuchi, the true reason Amaterasu pressed the Reset Button each time.

How can Lambda and Nu exist in the same game (Chronophantasma)? Doesn't Lambda have Nu's soul, making it impossible for both of them to exist (at least without one of them being without a soul)?

Lambda had her own soul. We see that in the memories of the experiments that were performed on her. It's just that Kokonoe erased Lambda's memories and placed Nu's soul inside her body in Continuum Shift, "suppressing" Lambda's soul so to speak. I have no idea why Kokonoe needed to do this but that's what happened.

How do all of the Murakumo units have their own Murakumo (the sword)? I'm fairly sure Lambda's is a replica, but what about Nu and Mu?

The Lux Sanctus Murakumo is not so unique a thing that only one can exist. Theoretically any of the Nox Nyctores could be created multiple times over provided one is capable of doing so. Yes, Lambda's is a replica made by Kokonoe but that's because Lambda was a failed Unit and her Murakumo wasn't complete when she was scrapped. Nu was a success so her Murakumo was smelted along with her. Mu's was created when Terumi smelted Noel into the Kusanagi. They are all their own separate weapons.

Why did Noel need to fuse with the Origin? Isn't Saya's soul just the sum of Noel's and the part inside her original body? What relation does Saya even have with the origin?

All of the Prime Fields are clones of the First Contact Unit (A.K.A. The Origin). They all have pieces of her soul inside of them. Noel Vermillion is special because she is literally the "other self" of The Origin, essentially a physical manifestation of her. It isn't explained in great detail but that is why the two fuse together.

Yes, but doesn't Noel have part of Saya's soul and Izanami has the other? What relation does Saya have to the origin?

Saya and the Origin don't have any direct connection to each other, it is the clones based off of Saya that are connected to the Origin. Noel still has her own soul, it just included pieces of Saya's and The Origin's inside it.

Alright, so Prime Fields were created with parts of the Origin's soul, with Mu having the largest portion. However, I have also read that Mu has part of Saya's soul. What is the complete and total relationship between Saya, Noel, Izanami, the Prime Fields, and the Origin?

I'm not sure what you're still confused about. I've explained everything there is. The Origin is the original Prime Field inside the Master Unit. Izanami was The Origin's Drive and contained half of Saya's soul. All Prime Field Devices contain a piece of the Origin's soul. Noel in particular is The Origin's "other self," not just the Prime Field with the biggest piece of her soul. Noel also had the other half of Saya's soul. Saya is the daughter of No. 5 but not a Prime Field herself so she didn't have a piece of The Origin's soul. During Central Fiction Noel absorbs Izanami into herself thus making Noel have Saya's complete soul inside of her. At this point Noel's soul is a giant mess of Noel, Mu, Saya, Izanami and The Origin but per Kokonoe's advice she just views herself as "Noel Vermillion." That's pretty much all of it. I don't know what else to tell you if you're still confused.

So what you're saying is that Noel has both part of the Origin's soul and part of Saya's soul inside her, whereas the other part of Saya's soul is in her original body, which is possessed by Izanami, the Drive of the origin, whereas the other Prime Fields were created with parts of the Origin's soul?

Yes, that's pretty much it.

However, there's one more problem. First of all, why does Noel have part of Saya's soul? How come it isn't all in her original body?

In order to make her a proper vessel for Izanami, Hazama and Relius brutally tortured Saya to destroy her mind. Somehow this caused her soul to split in two and while one of the pieces remained with Saya, the other ended up with Noel. I don't remember if it's elaborated on exactly how or why it went to Noel but that's what happened.

How can Terumi manifest Ouroboros? Terumi is a ghost, and Hazama was last seen actually using it. It made sense with the Murakumo units, as each one had another Murakumo (sword) forged for themselves, but this is never shown with Terumi, when he leaves Hazama's body there is no indication that he had Ouroboros with him. And secondly, if ghost's are intangible, how can Terumi be hurt by other characters?

There is no given answer for the two Ouroboroses. The best we can gather is that Terumi is somehow able to make his own replica, presumably out of the same green energy he manipulates (notably, unlike with Hazama, I don't think we ever see Terumi use Ouroboros without it being surrounded by that energy). This is also seen in Phase Shift 1 when he had Ouroboros the minute he fused with Kazuma despite not getting it from Nine until Phase Shift 4. When Terumi gets it he from Nine mentions it being "true" Ouroboros, which suggests he wasn't using the real thing in Phase Shift 1. Basically I believe Hazama has the real one and Terumi just makes his own replica. As for Terumi being a ghost, when Trinity forcibly materialized him in CP she manifested his spirit as a physical body. He is no longer a true "ghost" anymore (which is why we never see the black and green blob form post-CS).

Why doesn't Nightmare Fiction play for Ragna vs Terumi matches? In Central Fiction, Hazama and Terumi no longer share a body, yet it still doesn't play. It only plays for Ragna vs Hazama, and at that point, Ragna basically doesn't give a shit about Hazama.

Why is the NOL so blasé about people on their payroll wielding Nox Nyctores weapons, given that they're extremely identifiable and very important in the setting? Noel isn't even important to the NOL when she's first seen with hers. What makes Jin and Noel sufficiently important that they can carry these ancient superweapons around instead of carrying normal arms like Tsubaki's?

Don't forget that Terumi, Relius and Izanami are basically in control of the NOL. Jin and Noel having those weapons is within the scope of their plans so they can easily make it so that no one questions their use with a simple order from the Imperator.

I get that Hazama is aware of time loops repeating themselves, but is Relius? His CS Arcade mode makes it clear he knows about them, but can he feel them? Stable Time Loop ensures that they become friends each time, I can get that, but does Hazama have to explain the nature of the time loops to him every time? Come to think of it, how stable is the time loop? Does Hazama have to put effort into finding Relius each time, because that implies there would be some loops when they miss each other.

As far as I can tell, Relius does not remember each time loop. He isn't an Onlooker like Rachel or a special being like Terumi so their is no reason to assume he can remember. However, inside the loops he is definitely aware they are happening since he is aware of the Master Unit and its Interventions. I doubt Terumi (and it's important to note that everyone being talked about is in regards to Terumi, not Hazama) needs to explain it since Relius is smart enough to figure it out on his own. Terumi doesn't need to become friends with Relius each time because they knew each other before the time loops start. They were the ones (alongside Shuichiro Ayatsuki) who were performing the experiment to smelt a Kusanagi that released the Black Beast in the first place. Since they knew each other before January 1st 2100 (the start of the time loop), they will always know each other. As for missing each other, that is impossible because as we see in Relius's Continuum Shift story, Terumi knows exactly where Relius will pop out of the Cauldron that the Black Beast knocked him into so Terumi can easily meet with him.

A lot of characters from the Dark War show up despite the 100 year time gap. Terumi and Trinity are spirits, so it makes sense they don't age, and Hakumen, Nine and Relius all came via the Boundary where time doesn't really flow. But what about the others, who apparently got between time periods by waiting? Valkenhayn is clearly old now, but a hundred years plus whatever he was at the time? It's possible beastkin age slower (given that he isn't an 'actual' werewolf), but does that mean Makoto also ages slower? Jubei doesn't even have that excuse - he's just a grizzled adult, even with all this time. Most egregiously, Celica. If Ragna and Jin are, at a guess, in their thirties during the story, that means there were seventy years between the war and her taking them in as children (ignoring that Saya is still a child - that could be to do with Izanami, I don't know). She's evidently a young teen during the war, so when she takes the children in as an adult she's eighty? She looks half that in flashback scenes! In short - just how old are the people who took The Slow Path supposed to be?

For your beastkin aging question regarding Valkenhayn and Makoto (and I'll thrown in Jubei), you have to remember that there are different kinds of beastkin. Valkenhayn is a lycanthrope created by sorcery, Jubei is a type of cat beastkin that has existed long before the Dark War while Makoto is a half-beastkin, a type that, like the Kaka, was artificially created as an attempt to stop the Black Beast. Valkenhayn and Jubei's type (and by extension his daughter Kokonoe who had to have been born not longer after the Dark War) do have longer lifespans than humans but that doesn't necessarily apply to Makoto. Celica's slow aging is explicitly attributed to her healing magic, which keeps her looking young (only being middle-aged at the oldest) and presumably would give her a longer lifespan than normal (you know, provided Terumi didn't kill her). Additionally, Ragna and Jin are definitely not in their thirties. Terumi attacked the church in 2192, only eight years before the events of Calamity Trigger (while it is technically in 2199, it takes place on December 31). They were kids at the time and Jin went to high school in the meantime, putting Jin likely somewhere around 20-22 and Ragna somewhere like 2-3 years older than that. Ages in BlazBlue are VERY vague in general. The only character with a concrete number is Noel (5 years old). Therefore we don't know how old the Dark War characters are besides 100+. Also, I don't know where you're getting that Saya is still a child. When possessed by Izanami she clearly looks older than she was in flashbacks, physically being not that different from Noel.

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